If you haven’t heard about Chanel’s runway show today at Paris Fashion Week, then chances are you were either already grocery shopping or dead. But as Kenton Magazine points out, the Kaiser is not the first to use the produce aisle as a runway. Marlon Gobel, Moschino and New Zealand’s Stolen Girlfriends Club have all ‘been there, done that’ with the grocery store concept. Lagerfeld may, however, be the first to emblazon interlocking C’s on Kaiser buns, brie cheese, cereal (Coco for Coco Puffs) and sardine cans. I personally would love to use a Chanel chain-link shopping basket next time I’m at Loblaws.
As with all freebies in fashion, my favourite doyennes of the industry were reportedly caught looting the shelves after the show. As Refinery 29 reports, Anna dello Russo turned morta di fame, grabbing anything in sight like “a common Supermarket Sweep contestant.” Ah, those were the days when high-ticket items were whole prosciuttos, not jars of Coco Chanel peanut butter that were allegedly, supposed to be donated to a food drive after the show. They now sit on a ventilated shelf somewhere in ADR’s biblioteca next to The Ikea Monkey’s shearling and Pharrell’s hat.
R29 also suggests the show’s concept was a knowing wink to the brand’s role in consumer culture. Chanel would not be alone in this regard – from super-rich Asians copping two of everything at Louis Vuitton to overnight lineups around H&M stores before the Versace capsule collection drops, fashion is driven by consumption. Karl hammered home the point by wrapping his 2.55 flap bags in plastic and slapping a neon sticker – the same one your butcher uses – that read: 100% Agneau.
I think the buzz created in the aftermath of Chanel’s runway show is perhaps the greatest takeaway (apart from canned food), and a testament to the power of a clever idea in the right hands. No doubt, RiRi and Cara being pushed down the aisle in a shopping cart with Joan Smalls at the wheel, is a trope we will reference for years to come. Bravo, Karl. You’ve just matched Ellen in making history twice in one week.
1 Comment